JUDGEMENT OF MICHIGAN POSTPONED Supply chain issues, staffing concerns play a role in decision By Greg Tasker
O
ne of the Michigan wine industry’s biggest events -- an annual wine judging and reception -- will not take place this
summer. Organizers of the Judgement of Michigan decided to postpone the event until the summer of 2023 because of supply chain issues and sta ng concerns at the host venue, Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, says Emily Dockery, executive director of the Michigan Wine Collaborative, a nonpro t organization that promotes the state’s wine industry and is a partner in the judging program. “We de nitely wanted to have (the event) in 2022, but it wasn’t in the cards,” Dockery says. “We’re really proud of this event. We just didn’t have the resources available to replicate what we did last year … We’re planning to make 2023 super solid,” The annual judging returned last summer after a hiatus with a new name, new location, new judges, new format and a reinvigorated focus on spreading the word about the quality and variety of wines being produced in the Great Lakes State. Called the Judgement of Michigan, a play on the famous Paris tasting in which unknown California wines bested French wines, the event brought together an all-new, more diverse panel of judges from Michigan and other parts of the country to evaluate wines submitted by about 55 wineries in a blind tasting. The judges represented restaurateurs, distributors, sommeliers, wine retailers, national writers and social in uencers. The Judgement was a successor to the Michigan Wine Competition, which was held for more than 40 years at various locations but no longer exists. That competition was sponsored by the now-defunct Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council. Organizers launched the new event last year with a di erent view of judging Michigan wines. While wines were divided by categories, each wine was judged on its own merits, and not against other wines in the same category. Gold, silver and bronze medals were awarded. Double gold was deemed the highest honor. The Judgement of Michigan was viewed as an opportunity to introduce or reintroduce state-produced wines to relevant judges in the wine community who can help Michigan wine reach more consumers. The hope was the award-winning wines and others in Michigan would nd their way onto restaurant menus and sales portfolios, more store shelves and in the cellars of new consumers. About 350 to 360 wines were evaluated last year -- almost the same as the 2019 competition, under the old format. In all, the judges in 2021 awarded eight Double Gold, 33 Gold, 58 Silver and 76 Bronze medals. The event’s planning committee asked the judging squad to be brutally honest during the evaluation. The judges only awarded medals to wines that deserved recognition. About 50% of the wines were not awarded any type of medal; in the last Michigan competition, only 8% of the wines were not given medals. Even though judging will not take place this summer, the Michigan Wine Collaborative is going ahead with trade events that had been planned as part of the new competition.
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23 | MICHIGAN UNCORKED
